Planograph co



D. WHITAKER.

SHIELD TUNNELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man NIM/13.1919.

1,3 1 1,143. Patented July 22, 1919.

THF. .oLuMBlA PLANOGRAPH co.. WAsHlNa'x-ON, D.,c.

PATENT onirica.

noueiii'swnrrii'nnn, or kLnions'rna, ENGLAND.

To all whom imag concern." i i Be it known thatLDoUGLAs WHrrAKER,

subject of the King of-Great Britain, resid- L tained type z'. @.whei'ein the driving means such as motor, 'gearing and other parts and tliefadvancingmeans .such as Jacks, are ai'- -rial than it is-fwith others,ibut`it isfound ranged inside the' shield or outervcylindrical case.` f, w I f With machinesof tliisfclass thereis a tendency in use,owingtothetorque,1for the outer caseor body to creep:circumferentially in the bore or tunnel, and when this occurs the driving means and other. pai-tsgcontained more or less canted position.4 f'.

The creeping or-turningof the; oase or body withinthe `bore for tunnehis more marked withsoine kindsl of-earth'or matev and-fixed withinv the case lare-brought,l to a thatgenerallyrthere isa creeping rotation of the outer body.` as the-machine is advanced with the aforesaid result'that thev internal driving and other parts. become i. moved from the uprightposition.1

It is necessary,.or at any `rate very vdesirable, that the internal partsormachines of' this type should be maintainedin an upright position or substantially so,l and this is particularly important when the machiney is equipped with water. tanks ai'idjpumps for the hydraulic actuation ofthe jack or rams.

Vith a view to counteracting the circuinerential creeping tendency, githeI cylindrical. case or body has in some instances loeenfurf nislied with exterior devices such as wings or ribs; these however, are liable t0 be broken oii or bent or distorted by contact with stones or hard resisting material as the machine is advanced.

The present invention has for its object to improve the construction of tunneling machines of the class referred to whereby in spite of any turning or circumferential creeping of the outer case or body which may occur the internal parts of the machine i i. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1919. Serial 110.296,951.

l i i. SHIELD TUNNELine-MACHINE.

Patented July 22, 1919.

may be maintained in an upright or other desired position.

To this end those internal parts of the machine which are to be maintained upright or in deiinite positions relatively to the horizontal'or vertical plane, are arranged in such a manner as to be capable of adjustment within the outer cylindrical body so that in theevent of the latter turning within the bore ortunnel, the said parts can, by the aforesaid adjustment, be restored to their correct positionf The invention therefore, comprises a shield tunneling machine of the type herein referred to characterized by the feature that the internalV structure or one or more parts of saine is 0r are capable of movement relatively to the outer oase or body, for, the purpose liereihbefore mentioned.

Means are combined with the internal movable partor parts and the outer case or body t0 fastensaid movable part or parts in position after adjustment.

According to oneinanncr of carrying outV the invention the whole 0f the :internal parts of -themachine are arranged` to be capable of rotativeadjustment within the outer case for which purpose said parts are attached to a suitable frame or structure suitably mounted in the cylindrical case so as to be rotatable therein.

In further describing the invention reference will be made to the accompanying drawingwhereinfa concrete example of the invention .is illustrated.

Y In the .drawing referred to Figurel 1 is a sectional side view of a shield.` tunneling machine having the internal structure arranged in such a manner as to be rotatably adjustable within the cylindrical outer case.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same taken on the line a-a of the Fig. 1 viewed from the right.

In both figures of the drawing, like parts are designated by the same reference characters.

In the tunneling machine shown in the drawing, 1 is the cutter head, 2 is the cutter shaft, 8 the driving gear and other associated parts, 4 the motor, 5 the jacks or rains and 6 the cylindrical case or body which forms the shield. The machine is moved circumferential rails or tracks 101 in the cylindrical case 6 and is thereby able to turn in the latter.

The turning of the frame or structure S may be effected by any convenient means.

F or example, one or more screw jacks or/ equivalent devices may be employed such device or devices operating between suitable parts iixed to the frame and outer ease respectively.

A convenient construction and arrangement or' the aforesaid screw jacks for moving the frame S around inside the cylindrical case G is shown in Fig. 2. Each jack consists of a screwed rod 11 furnished with a handwheel 12 said rod engaging with a nut 18 pivotally mounted in a bracket 14C attached to the 'frame 8. The opposite end of the rod 1l engages another nut 15 which is connected by links 1G (Figs. 1 and Q) with an annular flange 17 on the inside of the cylindrical case (3 said flange as shown in Fig. 2 having a series of holes 18 so that the links 1G may beconnected thereto at any suitable point, and the poi-nt of connection may be altered as necessary when the frame is turned in the case G.

The opposite ends of the rod -11 engaging with the nuts 13 and 15 are oppositely screw threaded so that by turning the hand wheel 12, the distance between the bracket 14: and the point of connection 19 on the annular flange 17 is varied to turn the frame S one way or the other.

In the arrangement shown two screw jacks such as just described are provided on each side of the frame 8 and it will be obvious that to change the position of the frame within the case 6 the jacks on one side must be slackened while those on the opposite side are tightened. The tightening of the jacks on the opposite sides of the frame 8' after adjustment of the latter firmly astens the frame in position in the case 6 by pulling the rollers or wheels 9 down upon the rails 10.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that if during the advance of the machine the shield or outer case 6 turns Within the bore 20, the internal parts may be restored to proper position by adjustment of the jacks the anchorage points 19 of which may be changed around the fiange 17 to suit requirements.

By mounting the jacks or rams 5 or equivalent devices upon the movable frame 8 as well as the driving elements and other parts, said rams ordevices may, by the adjustment of the frame 8, be maintained in or moved to that posi-tion where they will be most eii'ective in operation.

I claim 1. A shield tunneling machine of the selfcontained type, comprising an outer casing, internal tunneling mechanism, capable of rotation relatively to -the outer casing and means for eiiecting such rotation and for securingthe casing `and internal mechanism in their relatively adjusted positions.

2. A shield tunneling machine comprising an outer casing with internal circumferen tial rails, an internal tunneling- 'structure having rollers mounted upon said circumferential rails and means for axially turning said structure Within said casing and securing the structure and casing in relatively adjusted posi-tion. j v 3. In a tunneling Vmachine comprising an outer casing and anl internal tunneling structure, means for circumferentially moving and fasteningV in position said structure comprising lscrew jacks connected' to said structure and to said outer casing, the point of connection of said jacks to the said casing being variable circumferentially, substantially as and for the purpose described. Y

In testimony'whereoifl I aiix my signature in presence oi' two witnesses.

DOUGLAS WHITAKER. Vitnesses l R. WV. C. TAYLOR, GEORGE LESTER.

copies of this` patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

